One of our campus groups just finished their annual fashion show, and while it went better this year than in the past, music/video playback still needs some work. This year we only had music from 3 sources, plus video and still photo projection. Primary music was from laptop 1 running windows media player. That music origanlaly came from multiple sources and has the wide varietaions that you might expect. Secondary music was from laptop 2. This was a dedicated laptop for internet use. We have a number of student groups on campus who prefer to perform to music from youtube and the DJ for this event used the second laptop specifically for that to elimante having to switch back and forth between WMP and Firefox. A third laptop ran video (with audio) for the main screen, and a fourth laptop ran a powerpoint showing still photos on a secondary screen. Thank goodness the group provided their own DJ to keep everything straight, but there has got to be a better way. So I need a peice of software that:
1) is windows based,
2) I can record all my songs into and level all their volumes,
3) I can build a playlist that includes both songs and videos,
4) Allows for fading songs out insteead of just chopping them off,
5) I can advance to the next item on the playlist with a simple button press or I can rearrange the playlist on the fly if we need to skip a scene that the performers aren't ready for. Simple operation is key here.
I need something like this,
Import material before the show, plug in a stereo audio send to the house and a VGA to the projector.
1st cue is song 1
second cue, song 2
third cue, video a
fourth cue, step through photos 1-10 while playing song 3
fifth cue, back to another song.
It would be VERY helpful if the software could import files from Youtube or other internet resources, but that's not a deal breaker.
I've seen some DJ software that would handle most of the audio requirements, but they haven't had the video integration that I need. Same for sound cue playback software. Powerpoint could integrate my video/photo needs with basic audio clips, but lacks the audio editing capabilities that I want. Ultimately I guess I'm looking for a combination of the two, in a clean, easy-to-use interface. This being for a school, budget will eventually have it's say in things, but I'm looking for ideas right now.
Thanks all
Matt
1) is windows based,
2) I can record all my songs into and level all their volumes,
3) I can build a playlist that includes both songs and videos,
4) Allows for fading songs out insteead of just chopping them off,
5) I can advance to the next item on the playlist with a simple button press or I can rearrange the playlist on the fly if we need to skip a scene that the performers aren't ready for. Simple operation is key here.
I need something like this,
Import material before the show, plug in a stereo audio send to the house and a VGA to the projector.
1st cue is song 1
second cue, song 2
third cue, video a
fourth cue, step through photos 1-10 while playing song 3
fifth cue, back to another song.
It would be VERY helpful if the software could import files from Youtube or other internet resources, but that's not a deal breaker.
I've seen some DJ software that would handle most of the audio requirements, but they haven't had the video integration that I need. Same for sound cue playback software. Powerpoint could integrate my video/photo needs with basic audio clips, but lacks the audio editing capabilities that I want. Ultimately I guess I'm looking for a combination of the two, in a clean, easy-to-use interface. This being for a school, budget will eventually have it's say in things, but I'm looking for ideas right now.
Thanks all
Matt
